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Wilson Combat Woes
- Thread starter DuneBoer
- Start date
Once you do up a proper 16.5-18 pound recoil spring and probably increase your extractor tension, you should be right as rain.
And this is why i have an ugly gun and selling my kimber pro carry. I want something that i can neglect, toss any ammo i want through it, use it as a hammer to drive tent stakes snd continue to shoot it with some sort of russian military spam can ammo. Ok, ok, i feed it federal and critcal defense, but i could feed it tula or brown bear, right? Right!
Sorry for your woes op, that gun in my eyes shouldn’t do that, but i know why it does. I can never trust a gun that has given me fits, i sell them or stuff em in the safe if they do.
Sorry for your woes op, that gun in my eyes shouldn’t do that, but i know why it does. I can never trust a gun that has given me fits, i sell them or stuff em in the safe if they do.
Only part in a glock I've broke was the same spring in a gen2 17. And the pistol could still be made to fire.
Bunch of 1911's in a neighborhood see a moving van at the house for sale down the street. See a glock pull up the for sale sign and start unloading.
One 1911 sez to the other, well, there goes the neighborhood, time to move out b4 our property values go south. ?
Glock kid walks up to 1911 kid, to be told, damn, you are an ugly fat kid, stay away from my sister.?
And the fight is on. ?????
One 1911 sez to the other, well, there goes the neighborhood, time to move out b4 our property values go south. ?
Glock kid walks up to 1911 kid, to be told, damn, you are an ugly fat kid, stay away from my sister.?
And the fight is on. ?????
This is not further beating on the OP, but more of a PSA because so many 1911 owners have the wrong expectations going into it and the unmet expectations give the platform (or specific manufacturers) a bad name.
They call the 1911 "an expert's gun" for a reason. Not by our grandparents' standards; by ours.
We are accustomed to polymer guns (like the Glock) which run reliably with zero maintenance. Don't lube it, it will still run. Don't replace the recoil spring when recommended, it will still run. Bury it in mud and don't clean it afterwards, it will still run. It doesn't have to be tuned for a particular ammo. It is the Toyota Corolla of the handgun world. I actually know someone that never put oil in their Toyota. Ran it dry. Eventually a rod went through the side of the block, but it went to 140,000 miles before it happened.
The 1911 -(a properly built and tuned one) is more like a Ferrari than a Corolla. Faster, smoother, more accurate, more ergonomic, and a hell of a lot better looking, but it requires a strict maintenance regimen and it requires the owner to be highly knowledgable about the platform. If you gave your average Corolla owner the keys to a Ferrari, they'd treat it like their Corolla and eventually break it through improper care (if they didn't wrap it around a tree first).
So here's the takeaway: if you aren't going to learn the mechanics of the platform, learn how to choose the proper springs for your loads, learn how to diagnose and prevent issues, and follow the prescribed maintenance regimen, the Glock will simply work better in your hands than the 1911. If you WILL do all those things, the 1911 will outperform the Glock in every measurable way, just as a Ferrari does a Corolla on the track.
They call the 1911 "an expert's gun" for a reason. Not by our grandparents' standards; by ours.
We are accustomed to polymer guns (like the Glock) which run reliably with zero maintenance. Don't lube it, it will still run. Don't replace the recoil spring when recommended, it will still run. Bury it in mud and don't clean it afterwards, it will still run. It doesn't have to be tuned for a particular ammo. It is the Toyota Corolla of the handgun world. I actually know someone that never put oil in their Toyota. Ran it dry. Eventually a rod went through the side of the block, but it went to 140,000 miles before it happened.
The 1911 -(a properly built and tuned one) is more like a Ferrari than a Corolla. Faster, smoother, more accurate, more ergonomic, and a hell of a lot better looking, but it requires a strict maintenance regimen and it requires the owner to be highly knowledgable about the platform. If you gave your average Corolla owner the keys to a Ferrari, they'd treat it like their Corolla and eventually break it through improper care (if they didn't wrap it around a tree first).
So here's the takeaway: if you aren't going to learn the mechanics of the platform, learn how to choose the proper springs for your loads, learn how to diagnose and prevent issues, and follow the prescribed maintenance regimen, the Glock will simply work better in your hands than the 1911. If you WILL do all those things, the 1911 will outperform the Glock in every measurable way, just as a Ferrari does a Corolla on the track.
Where does grandpa's 100+ year old 1911, US marked fit in there, it's not a Ferrari or a Corolla.... VW?
VW is German. Grandpa might not like that.
Armsunlimited.com has all the Ranger T you want.
I don't know where the prices are right now but it worked out to $22 a box last time I bought any
If it's out of stock sign up for the email notification, it comes in stock about once a month
BTW, there is absolutely NO reason a Wilson (or any quality 1911) can't run +P+ ammo. I've run 250 grain XTPs in mine at 980 fps with no problems. It just has to be sprung correctly for it.
The reason the OP was able to run it through his Kimbers without problems is because Kimbers come from the factory with the GI standard 16 lb. recoil spring and 23 lb. mainspring. Per a previous conversation with a Wilson gunsmith (not a customer service rep), they typically set their 5" 45 acp CQBs up with a 16 lb. recoil spring and a 19 lb. mainspring in order to get a lighter, crisper trigger pull.
The reason the OP was able to run it through his Kimbers without problems is because Kimbers come from the factory with the GI standard 16 lb. recoil spring and 23 lb. mainspring. Per a previous conversation with a Wilson gunsmith (not a customer service rep), they typically set their 5" 45 acp CQBs up with a 16 lb. recoil spring and a 19 lb. mainspring in order to get a lighter, crisper trigger pull.
Man between things like this and the video they made where they said not to drop the slide on an empty chamber or damage the gun maybe they should change their name from Wilson Combat to "Wilson make sure not to be too hard on these things".
That's ALL 1911's. Wilson's are among the toughest 1911's you can get bar none.
Just because he is having issues with ONE and its not the guns fault IMO they do not need to change anything. They did not get to where they are by not doing it right.
I'm not even kidding, you need the super high tension springs in the magazine for these.
www.cmproducts.com
Chip McCormick Custom
www.cmproducts.com
Got my Wilson Target back today. They changed the extractor. They did not change any springs. They threw in a new 7 round magazine with a stiffer spring. They reinstalled a shock buff. I put fifty rounds of Wilsons low velocity target loads. The little fella ran fine with it.
interestingly they insured it for only $1000. It all makes sense now.
interestingly they insured it for only $1000. It all makes sense now.
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You should either
1) sell me the 45 ammo very very cheap, and then use the $ to buy some sissy load for your Metero Wilson 1911. I will then shoot your ammo out of my reliable sigs and kimbers.
or
2) buy another Sig 220 and use it to blast off those 8k rounds and be happy.
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I guess it doesn't live up to it's name "Wilson Combat" maybe they should change their name to "Wilson Target"...……...
You nailed it.
I'm only going from personal memory's and don't know if I'm entirely right, but I first encountered Wilson's work in the very late 80's and early 90's shooting IPSC. IIRC they weren't building their own guns yet, but were upgrading factory pistols for competition use.
Race guns/comp pistols are totally different animals than carry guns. Some of those lines have blurred over the years, but Wilson's beginnings are not in carry guns unless I'm really mistaken. Also, 45ACP +P and +P+ wasn't a thing back then. 10mm was the emerging fad for "duty" guns and 38 Super / 9x21 were the darlings of the race gun crowd.
Wilson got into the production 1911 game under their own name, but their roots are in the target sports vs the streets, and I'd imagine their approach to accuracy vs durability is still ingrained in the company's DNA.
Good. Now run a few hundred rounds of standard ball through it while lubing things every 100 rounds or so.
No way. Not putting any of that crazy hot stuff through my little princess. Only Wilson 720FPS ammo for her from now on.
Good call. I personally do nothing but standard weight springs in the duty/defense guns. Lighter springs go in competition guns.
Just to recap. Wilson DID NOT replace my recoil or mainspring. They only replaced my extractor and gave me a different magazine with a heavier spring. My springs must have been ok after all.
I think the standard ball ammo is a good idea. No +P/+P+. When I am going through a lot of rounds, I lube A LOT. It almost seems like too much.
Interested in how standard ball runs in it now.
If any of you think Kimbers are reliable you haven’t been around USPSA very much. I have seen so many of the MIM safety levers they use shatter in the middle of matches.
every limber I have come across has been sold. They might have been solid back in the day but they are bottom feeders now.
every limber I have come across has been sold. They might have been solid back in the day but they are bottom feeders now.
They don't have a way of testing the springs and visual inspection of spring length is not reliable. Just because they didn't replace them means nothing. If you want to know it's set up right, order some fresh springs and put them in yourself. Here's what to order:
For pussycat target loads (185 grain at 775 fps) all the way up to standard ball ammo (230 grain at 890 fps): 17 lb. flatwire recoil spring kit (comes with new guide rod) and 19 lb. main spring. The flatwire spring will last 10 times longer than the standard "round wire" spring you're running and it is more versatile, able to handle a wider range of recoil.
If I wanted to run the Ranger T, I would order a 20 lb. flatwire recoil spring kit and a 26 lb. main spring. This should work but it won't be able to run any light target loads.
Why would they not have a way to test a recoil spring? Isn't a recoil spring tester a fairly common tool?
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Great, I am sure you are gut full of all this. I know this, surest way to screw an extractor up on a 1911 is chambering a rd by hand and ramming the slide home from lock. I am shocked the 47D mags did not work, for 25 yrs they have been the best I have tried, even Kimber 8rdrs that were Chip McCormick's worked great in all my 1911"s.
I am trying to get away from the 1911 45acp game, and have a couple Ed Brown 8 rds if you want to try them, I do not see them for sale anymore, but stiff springs and a goofy follower.
I bought a EDC X9 a couple yrs ago, and just recently bought 2 Wilson 9mm 1911's, for kids. Of all the high end 1911's i have owned, i never went Wilson, after shooting these, I wish I had bought a WC 45 yrs ago.
Why would they not have a way to test a recoil spring? Isn't a recoil spring tester a fairly common tool?
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It's a cheaply-made novelty. There's a reason the reviews only give it 2.8 out of 5 stars. Not that it means much, but I've spent a pretty good amount of time in the 1911 world and I've never even heard of anyone owning or using such a tool. Just my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt.
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